Dance With Me
by Tendrilofthought
Summary: After Ron breaks up with Hermione, she finds herself in a muggle dance studio, where, through a bizarre twist of fate, she ends up partnered with Draco Malfoy for a dance competition. Will the partners dance their way into something more than friendship?


Disclaimer: All I own is the rabid plot bunny that started this. And I'm starting to think that he owns me…

Dance With Me 

Hermione stormed through the streets of muggle London, glad to be away from the wizarding world for a short while. Not just the wizarding world as a whole, but more specifically a certain red headed wizard that had just broken her heart.

"Damn it!" she swore loudly, attracting nervous glances from the surrounding muggles.

Hermione and Ron had been dating for two years now, ever since Voldemort had been vanquished in the final battle. Life had been going well- Hermione had moved into his flat in Hogsmeade, Ron had just renewed his contract as Keeper of the Chudley Cannons, and she and Ginny were busy with Harry and Ginny's wedding arrangements, going out to the Hog's Head every Friday night to work on plans. But it was just last night, coming home from one such date, that Hermione had opened the door of her flat to find Ron passionately snogging another witch senseless. Although Ron and the blonde had hastily broken apart at the sound of Hermione's scream, the damage had been done, and Hermione had slammed the door and stalked away.

Ron had run after her, trying to shout justifications for his actions, but Hermione was not impressed. Eventually, Ron had given up, and left Hermione to wander alone on the streets of Hogsmeade.

Did he think that it wouldn't bother me? She thought to herself. Or even worse, did he really believe that I'm the smart, bookish, unfeeling witch that the Daily Prophet makes me out to be?

The realization that by this time the next day, the whole wizarding world would have found out about she and Ron's break-up pushed Hermione over the edge. She groaned, and apparated away to London, where she was now.

Hermione slowed her blind, fury-fueled rampage to a slower walk, until she finally stopped altogether and sat down on a bench.

The sun was setting, and the air was starting to get colder. Hermione rubbed her bare arms-she had left her cloak at Ron's- and looked at the muggles around her, so blissfully unaware that the beautiful brunette witch in their presence was in the process of becoming embroiled in some of the greatest gossip the wizarding world had gotten since Harry and Ginny announced their engagement a few months prior.

Hermione groaned, and rubbed at her temples, where a massive headache was threatening to burst through. When had Ron started seeing another witch? She wondered. And more importantly, why?

She and Ron had had something special, or at least that's what Hermione had thought. They loved each other… didn't they? Hermione snorted. Apparently not. Generally, love did not entail one partner sneaking off to have an affair while still pretending to be in love.

Oh, Merlin! How long had he been pretending that everything was fine? Had he ever actually loved her? Had she completely wasted the past nine years of her life on someone that had only been toying with her from the start?

A couple sitting next to her interrupted Hermione's wild thoughts. They were heatedly kissing and touching each other, and breathy moans accompanied their display.

"I _really_ can't take this right now," Hermione muttered darkly under her breath. She stood up quickly, whirled around, and-

"Oomph!" said a feminine voice, and Hermione found herself falling to the ground with a shriek.

Gravel bit into the palms of her hands as Hermione reached back to catch herself, failed miserably, and landed on the hard ground.

"Oh my gosh, I am so sorry!" cried the voice from before. Hermione groaned, and started to push herself up. A thin, pale hand grabbed her wrist with a surprising amount of force, and pulled Hermione to her feet.

"No, it's my fault. I really should've watched where I was going."

Hermione brushed off her jeans and baggy Tee shirt- perfect for a relaxing girl's night out at a bar, but quite unsuitable for protection against the chilly night air- and winced as her scraped hands met with the rough denim of her pants.

The young blonde woman that had run into her saw the wince, and gasped as her blue eyes found Hermione's scraped palms.

"You're hurt!"

"No, it's really nothing-"

"Yes, it is! You've got to come with me back to my place; I can bandage it up really quick, and I've got a salve that'll work like magic!"

"I highly doubt that," muttered Hermione, but none-the-less, she allowed herself to be dragged away by the petite woman.

Throughout the entire two-block trek, the young woman (who introduced herself as Katherine, and didn't even blink in recognition when Hermione offered up her name) chattered on and on about mundane little things that were happening in her life. Katherine was a dance instructor, Hermione found out, and she was busy trying to get her class ready for an upcoming competition. One of her lead girls had dropped out, leaving the star male pupil without a partner. Hermione nodded along, glad to have a distraction from the magical world.

When Katherine and Hermione arrived at the dance studio that Katherine worked and lived at, the sun had completely set. The only break in the darkness was the dim light coming from inside the studio.

Katherine fumbled her key into the studio's lock, and pushed the glass door open. A bell rang as they entered.

The one florescent light that was on didn't provide much light, but Hermione could make out that she was in a very large, open room, surrounded on two sides by mirrors that tracked her reflection as Katherine lead Hermione to the office in the back of the studio.

The office was neat, clean, and sparsely populated by one chair, a desk, and a small refrigerator. Katherine sat Hermione down on the chair, and fished out a first aid box from the desk's drawers.

"Oh, Merlin, I've left the salve upstairs!"

Hermione blinked as Katherine dashed out of the office and upstairs. Muggles generally didn't say "Merlin"…

Oh, well, thought Hermione, the girl must have been fond of medieval history. She most certainly couldn't have been a witch- what magical person would set up a dancing studio in muggle London?

Katherine bounded back into the room, triumphantly holding up a bottle. She took Hermione's hands in her own, and gently applied the "magical" salve.

Just as she was finishing up, a very familiar voice called, "Well, well, well. What did the Kat drag in now?"

Katherine giggled. "Oh, Draco, you and your corny jokes."

Hermione slowly turned around and closed her eyes, hoping against hope that her arch-nemesis was not actually standing right behind her.

But when she opened her eyes, there stood Draco Malfoy.

Hermione groaned.

Only Malfoy could turn her perfectly awful day into an even worse one.


End file.
